Terra Angelis
by Marithe007
Summary: It's an original story that's been hovering in my mind for moths, I finally managed to write it down, but I'm still not sure where I'm gonna take it yet. For now I've put up the prologue and I would love to know what you guys think! I won't continue to post it unless a get a review, so please do. I wanna know if someone's actua;;y reading it :D


It was a dark, silent night, the very around the forest hung heavy in anticipation, the sky which would have been filled with stars and constellations was clouded over, a barrier so thick not even the moon's silver glow filtered through. There wasn't a sound to be herd, despite the fact that it was summer and on any other night the forest would be alive with sounds, but not even the wind dared to breech the silence that hung heavy, as if the whole forest was waiting for the storm that was surely to come. And then with the first rolls of thunder the spell was broken, and the forest came alive with sounds, the wind howled as it passed through the trees, giving them a chance to scream out after so long a silence, the rain pouring heavily down on the earth, forbidding any creature to venture out into the storm.

Then the sound of hooves, horse hooves, light and quick and desperate, a lone rider braving the rain and wind. It was a young man, bundled up and dressed in a long crimson cloak far too big for him, clutching a big bundle to his chest. The man looked only ahead, trying to go as fast as possible without actually being in danger, his serious silver gaze directed at the path before him, but glazed over with thought and sorrow, memories, of bright fire and dark blood, of broken bodies and glinting swords, of unknown dead and ones that are far too dear, flash through his mind before he banishes them into the darkest parts of his mind. Not yet, it's too soon to think, to allow time to grieve, first he needs to put as much distance between him and the place he used to call home, but is now just another nightmare to plague his nights.

They'd taken everything from him, in a matter of hours; his whole life had come crushing down in the most gruesome way imaginable. The slight shifting from the bundle in his blanket made him rethink that thought, almost everything. He'd managed to save the most important one, although he'd preferred to not have the need to save her at all. He looked down to the tiny baby girl in his arm, bundled up in blankets and a fur-lined cloak, she was sleeping fitfully, not doubt uncomfortable from the cut in her back, a long thin gash, running diagonally from shoulder to hip. The innermost layer was already bloodied, the dark material tinted red. Though he'd stopped the bleeding, he knew it would leave a scar.

Looking at the babe in his arms brought a fresh wave of emotion to his eyes, raw sorrow mixing with a tentative hope. He'd promised her parents he'd keep her safe, and though it pained him more than words could express, he had to leave them to go take her away, away from the fires and murderers. He felt like a coward, running away under the cover of shadows instead of staying and fighting for his home, but he knew it was for the best, even if he had stayed it wouldn't make a difference, they had been hopelessly outnumbered. And if they had managed to leave his mentor in such a state…He pushed that image away, remembering their bloodied bodies was too painful, much too painful, it was too soon.

Above them, the storm was raging on, with no signs of stopping any time soon; he looked down at the baby in his arms and worried. She was paler than usual, and her tiny body was shivering slightly. He needed to get out of the rain, quickly, he could stay out there all night, he didn't mind, he wanted to really, to stay out in the storm and feel one with the world, to let the rain wash away all his sorrow and pain, to make it all go away. But she couldn't, she was already in bad shape from the blood loss, thought he'd managed to stop it for a bit, the hard ride had hurt her wounds and the blankets were almost all stained with blood, only the fur cloak was still intact. He focused on the road and noticed a smaller path leading off to the left, and lights in the distance, he thought it was worth a try, and steered the horse in the direction of the lights.

As he neared the house gained detail, it was a modest looking farmhouse, thought he could not see the fields and barn, he knew they were there by the absence of trees within the darkness of the night, the rain falling steadily instead of the broken, interrupted rhythm he'd become used to in the long ride. The light he'd seen from the road came from a window, he imagine it would be the kitchen, most likely some farmer's wife waiting for her husband to come back from town, or a mother calming her child after being woken by the storm. Either scenario suited him fine, as these types of women were more likely to take pity on them and let them in.

He dismounted and tied the horse under an old oak, shielding it from the worst of the rain, and headed towards the protection of the porch, he was careful on the steps, it would not do to fall and hurt the baby so close to safety. He reached the old wooden door and gave 3 solid knocks before stepping back. He heard shuffling behind the door, quick footsteps before the door was thrown open and light blinded him. Once his eyes adjusted, he looked down to see a kindly looking woman, not very beautiful but still pretty, with long brown hair and clear blue eyes, She looked confused, as if she'd been expecting someone else. He decided to take a chance and opened his mouth to speak but just then the baby in his arms shifted catching both his and the woman's attention. The woman gave a loud gasp, and started speaking rapidly.

"Goodness gracious! Is that BLOOD? Dear gods, is she ok, no never mind, obviously she isn't, come in, come in, quick, else both you and that child will catch your death!" she said, her voice was pleasant, with a strange accent he couldn't quite place, obviously not a native. She ushered him inside with surprisingly strong hands, and made him sit down in a wooden rocking chair placed in front of a lively fire, then proceeded to leave the room with a hurried "just stay right there, I'll bring some for that babe. Make yourself comfortable". When she was gone, he took the opportunity to look around the room, it was a cozy, rather big kitchen, the sink and counters and other cooking stuff was all placed against the opposite side of the room, a wooden table was placed in the center of the room, with a chair in each of its sides. The chair he was seated on what next to the fireplace, it was very comfortable; obviously a chair made for a mother to rock her baby to sleep.

He looked down at the child in his arms; she was awake now, bright green eyes hazy with sleep and staring at him as she always did, it was so normal, so innocent that it almost brought tears to his eyes. He'd been so stressed ever since leaving his home, everything had gone so wrong so fast, it seemed like a nightmare and he'd wake up any minute in his own bed, to see the morning light seeping through his window, smell breakfast cooking, and hear the sounds of the village waking up all around him. But it wasn't a nightmare, he would never again wake to that scenery and the thought of it broke him beyond anything else, but this little babe, this tiny little thing in his arms gave him hope. She was all that remained of his home now, and he would protect her no matter what, he would go through hell for this little girl, unaware that she'd just lost everything that could have been her life.

He heard a noise and looked up to see the woman come back, arms laden with supplies and a sleepy-looking little boy following with his arms filled with so many blankets and cloths that his head was nearly completely hidden from view. She came up to him and tried to lift the girl from his arms, but he resisted, he couldn't trust this woman yet, and he'd already lost so much, he didn't even want to think of what would happened if she disappeared as well.

"It's ok, I won't harm her, I'm just going to get her out of those wet things and then clean and bandage her wound, alright? You should get out of your clothes as well; you'll really catch your death if you stay like that. Eric brought some of my husband's clothes for you, they'll be a bit big, but they're clean and dry, so it should do for now." As she said this, she moved to take the child away from him again and this time he let her, though never taking his eyes away from her. "I'll give her some of Eric's baby clothes so she'll have something to wear afterwards, alright?"

She placed the baby gently on a pile of blankets the boy, Eric, had put on the kitchen table and began removing her clothes carefully and with practiced ease. The baby simply looked up at her with wide, innocent eyes, making baby noises all the while. Once she was done undressing the baby, she carefully turned her over on her stomach and began the painfully slow process of cleaning out her wound. As the woman worked, he went to a corner of the room and undressed then redressed quickly, the little boy watching him with cautious eyes. He went back and sat down on the rocking chair by the fire, watching carefully as the woman worked.

All the while the woman talked, telling him about herself and her life, her name was Angela, about her husband Evan, who was a modest farmer, how he'd one day, so many years ago, gone to visit her village deep into the mountain far to the north in search for a special herb for his sickly mother, how they fell in love and she went with him when the time came to leave, about how different her life was afterwards, but that the people in the village where kind and welcoming. About their wedding and the time of her pregnancy, about her boy whom was to turn 7 next harvest, about her daily life, she told it all in such a soothing voice, the kind you'd on a newly caught horse, who didn't trust you and could easily hurt you.

Listening to her speak about her life combined with the soothing tone of her voice, made him feel as if he could trust this woman, Angela who could trust him with her story and her family, it made him feel safe for the first time since waking up this morning, no the morning before, as it was now early into the next day. He knew he could trust her, with his life and even with the babe's, who was now resting peacefully on the pile of blankets, new bandages peeking from the collar of the far too big shirt she was wearing.

Angela had now moved to the kitchen, and began to move around, he realized she was making him a meal, she was now working silently, he looked down to Eric, who was playing quietly with the baby, making silly faces to make her laugh. The scene brought such a feeling of nostalgia that his heart clenched painfully in his chest. He looked down at himself, his gangly form clad in borrowed clothes 2 sizes too big and made a choice. He looked up at Angela and spoke for the first time that night.

"My name is Alex and the baby's name is Hana, we've lost our home and our family today, I was on my way to a safe place before the storm hit and I saw your farm, I decided I should stop for her." As he spoke the whole story spilled out, unable to stop himself after such a long day, he told them everything, even the little, insignificant details of his life. As he spoke Angela kept cooking and soon a warm meal was placed on the table, on the opposite side of where Hana was laying, he went to sit on the corresponding chair when he was motioned and began to eat. Angela went to sit in front of Hana with a bottle of what he guessed to be warm milk and fed her slowly, Eric sat by her side looking fascinated. Everything was silent until Eric piped up "Can I try mommy?" and Angela told him to put the blankets on his lap, arranged them so Hana couldn't fall even if she wasn't being held, then instructed him on how to hold her correctly and placed her carefully on his lap. Eric watched Hana drink her milk in silent fascination. Angela looked at them fondly, then turned to Alex and spoke.

"I am sorry about what happened to you, and I understand why things turned out the way they did, however…I know it's probably not my place to say this but, do you really think that's the kind of environment a baby, any baby, should grow up in? Wouldn't it be dangerous for her to grow up around all that violence? Isn't there anywhere else you could take her?" she said, carefully looking at her hands on the table. Her voice gentle and careful guarded should she accidently offend him.

"There is nowhere else. Not for us, there's nowhere safe. If there is, I would take her, I don't want her to grow up surrounded by war, I want her to have the life that she would have had, but even so, I'm needed elsewhere, I can't simply stay tucked away in safety, I would be betraying everyone I loved…" He said, now looking towards Hana, happily lying on Eric's lap unaware of the things being said around her, things that may decide her entire future. Then Eric, whom he'd thought wasn't even listening to the serious conversation going on around him, spoke up with the enthusiasm of a child receiving a new toy.

"Why can't she stay with us, she'd be safe and you could come see her whenever you want!" His high child's voice filled with happiness and excitement. Alex and Angela both looked at him, the first with incredulity and the second with surprise. Alex was the first to come to.

"I-I couldn't intrude on you like that, you've already done so much for me, taking care of Hana's wound, giving us shelter from the rain, feeding us and even listening to our story. Besides, it'll surely bring you trouble later on, you'd be putting your family in danger!" He cried out. They were true, but they were just excuses, he knew it would be the best for her to grow up in a place like this, peaceful and safe, with a home full of love and kindness, but…He couldn't do it, he couldn't give up the last bit of happiness he had left, the last link he had to his old life. In truth he was being selfish, he knew leaving her here was for the best but he couldn't, he knew he wouldn't be happy if she wasn't with him. But Angela broke through his musings.

"Why not, I think it's a very good idea. I know how to care for children, Eric already seems to be very fond of her and I'm sure Evan won't mind, in fact I have a feeling he'll be ecstatic to have another child to spoil. And you can come visit her whenever you'd like, money's no problem either, like I said we do well around here." She said, a fond sort of look in her eyes, as if she were already seeing Hana's life play out in front of her eyes. Alex opened his mouth to protest once again, but Angela beat him to it. "You can't be selfish in such a serious matter, you know. This determines everything about her future; I know it may seem hard for someone as young as you, but I think you already know what's best for her." She said, this time looking at his eyes with a kind of soft sadness, as if she knew exactly how hard this was for him, but there was also this sort of sternness, as a mother would scolding her child for something wrong he's done while knowing it was wrong.

He stopped to think, he couldn't take Hana with him, he knew she couldn't grow up in that environment, it would be too much for her, it wasn't what her parents wanted for her either. But he couldn't stand to leave her, he couldn't let go of her too, it was too much, she was all that was left, but…He came to a decision, his silver eyes filled with determination and sadness. He looked up at Angela who was waiting patiently for his response, her eyes sad in a way that shouldn't be possible, he'd known her for barely a night, but already he'd done so much for them.

"Alright, I'll leave her in your care then."


End file.
